As many have warned after the DOGE-instigated, Malignant Fascist-pushed and MAGA Congress-approved cuts to the National Weather Service, the nation's preparedness for floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires has been dangerously weakened. The tragic flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas, claiming the lives of at least 51 people, with a number of girls missing from a summer camp, has the negligent MAGA team of the callous MF / ICE Barbie Kristi Noem / reactionary Gov. Greg Abbott looking for others to blame for their recklessness. From CNN:
"The National Weather Service warned of 'life-threatening flooding' along the river in a series of alerts in the early morning hours. But questions remain about how many people they reached, whether critical vacancies at the forecast offices could have affected warning dissemination, and if so-called warning fatigue had been growing among residents in a region described as one of the most dangerous in the country for flash flooding. [snip]
The two Texas NWS offices most closely involved in forecasting and warning about the flooding on the Guadalupe River — Austin-San Antonio and San Angelo — are missing some key staff members, but still issued a slew of watches and warnings about the flood danger.
The question is whether the warnings reached who they needed to reach.
Tom Fahy, the legislative director for the NWS employees’ union, told CNN that while he believes the offices had 'adequate staffing and resources,' the Austin-San Antonio office is missing a warning coordination meteorologist — a role that serves as a crucial, direct link between forecasters and emergency managers."(our emphasis)
The bottom line is that NWS staff did the best they could with what they had. They have pride in their work, and are certainly fearful of pointing a finger at the MF's regime for the personnel shortage. The NWS has lost nearly 600 people through layoffs and retirements from a workforce of roughly 4,000 in the six months of the MF's regime. Hurricane season is unfolding, so more preparedness issues like this will certainly arise (and we haven't even touched on FEMA's deconstruction). As Meidas.com news editor Ron Filipkowski posted yesterday, "The people in Texas voted for government services controlled by Donald Trump and Greg Abbott. That is exactly what they getting." FAFO.
BONUS: Two Georgia Republican MAGAt crackpots weigh in with their opinions: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Traitor Greene and candidate Kandiss Taylor (is there a Taylor crank gene?).
(photo: Debris left behind from Guadalupe River flooding. Saile Aranda / Texas Public Radio)
No comments:
Post a Comment